Do you take hot or cold showers after your runs?

danibrosseau
danibrosseau Posts: 45
in Fitness and Exercise
I've always been a runner.. and I've always taken hot showers. Recently, though, a friend of mine told me cold showers are much more beneficial. Is he right? Do y'all take hot or cold showers after you hit the pavement?

Replies

  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    I take cool showers to help me cool down and stop sweating more quickly. That is about the only benefit that I can think of.
  • danibrosseau
    danibrosseau Posts: 45
    I take cool showers to help me cool down and stop sweating more quickly. That is about the only benefit that I can think of.

    Okay! Good to know! My friend said he read something about cold showers working faster to heal the tiny muscle tears you get when you work out.. but idk. I haven't seen anything that supports that claim.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    I take cool showers to help me cool down and stop sweating more quickly. That is about the only benefit that I can think of.

    Okay! Good to know! My friend said he read something about cold showers working faster to heal the tiny muscle tears you get when you work out.. but idk. I haven't seen anything that supports that claim.

    Nope, not at all. If anything, heat would help soothe them more.
  • glassgallm
    glassgallm Posts: 276 Member
    It depends: if after a cool down walk I feel chilled, I take a hotter shower, if I still feel hot and sweaty after a cool down walk, I take a cooler shower. Rest days and cross training is what heals small muscle tears.
  • runforestrun35
    runforestrun35 Posts: 480 Member
    Hot shower or hot soak in the tub is even better!
  • danibrosseau
    danibrosseau Posts: 45
    I take cool showers to help me cool down and stop sweating more quickly. That is about the only benefit that I can think of.

    Okay! Good to know! My friend said he read something about cold showers working faster to heal the tiny muscle tears you get when you work out.. but idk. I haven't seen anything that supports that claim.

    Nope, not at all. If anything, heat would help soothe them more.

    Thanks for your feedback:)
  • danibrosseau
    danibrosseau Posts: 45
    It depends: if after a cool down walk I feel chilled, I take a hotter shower, if I still feel hot and sweaty after a cool down walk, I take a cooler shower. Rest days and cross training is what heals small muscle tears.

    Rest days & cross training makes sense, in terms of healing small muscle tears. Thanks so much for the clear answer. :)
  • danibrosseau
    danibrosseau Posts: 45
    Hot shower or hot soak in the tub is even better!

    I agree. Bring on the heat!
  • jopalis
    jopalis Posts: 238 Member
    shocking your system when you are heated up can be bad for the heart. Cold when you are hot...IMHO not good.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I take warm showers on hot days and warmer showers on cold days. I don't like extremes...
  • gary241069
    gary241069 Posts: 255 Member
    IMHO?
  • Lemongrab13
    Lemongrab13 Posts: 206 Member
    Neither temperature will help heal muscle tears.
    Personally my muscles are a lot less sore if I take a warm shower, but I guess that's due to the relaxation factor.
    Taking a cold shower can shock the system if you're hot (read it outside of a sauna lol :)) so I wouldn't suggest it.
  • twopeas2
    twopeas2 Posts: 81 Member
    I normally have a warm shower, but after my long run yesterday I was left in a lot of pain (abnormal) and resorted to an ice bath. It was sweet, sweet relief and I will do it again if need be. I had a hot shower afterwards then compression pants for the rest of the day.

    IMHO = in my honest opinion ????
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    cold helps cut down any swelling and heat helps with blood flow.
  • tycho_mx
    tycho_mx Posts: 426 Member
    shocking your system when you are heated up can be bad for the heart. Cold when you are hot...IMHO not good.

    I think a hard run would be more strenuous on your heart at any rate...

    I take warm showers and stretch calves/hamstrings/neck in the shower. But there are some studies that analyze the benefits of cryogenic therapy for recovery. Heck, even some cycling teams use cold therapy to improve recovery.

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/freezing-athletes-to-speed-recovery/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

    However, it seems like it's all in how the athlete feels - the markers for muscular damage and breakdown seem to be the same. So I guess the way to go is to experiment and see what works for you. I do a cold shower on very hot days because otherwise I'll still be too hot and will keep on sweating for hours.
  • caffeinated_frog
    caffeinated_frog Posts: 86 Member
    Cool water on my feet (I've got a removable shower head), and when I've cooled down a little I continue with a lukewarm shower. Not hot, but only putting cool water on my feet.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    I wait til I've cooled off a bit, then take a lukewarm shower. I hate cold water.
  • GillianMcK
    GillianMcK Posts: 401 Member
    What your friend may be thinking of and trying to substitue is an ice bath (although there's a lot of discussion to the benefits of them), after a long run (15 miles or more for me), I do take an ice bath within 45min of finishing, cold water about half way up the bath, get in (fully dressed from my run) and then add about 40lb of ice, sit in it for between 12min - 18min, get out and change into dry clothes (if it's winter I've seen me jumping into bed for 10min after), the theory is that the cold of the water/ice constricts the blood flow and when you get out and warm up the rush of blood to the legs flushes out more of the build up of toxins.
    I do find it works for me, but they aren't pleasant and I's really only a bit stiff the days following a run of 15 miles or more so I only use them when I have to, I did learn to put the ice in after I was in the cold water as getting in with the ice already in was almost bloody painful, also learned to keep my thick trail running socks on as well so the ice didn't directly touch my toes.

    Downside is that I have to wait over an hour after coming out the ice bath to actually have a shower and wash my hair etc.

    Not sure that a cold shower would work in the same principle as it's really only your legs that you need to do this for and I don't fancy getting my upper half any colder than I need to (I have also cheated and went and stood in the loch at the end of my run up to my hips, in Scotland in March, it's pretty much the same thing as an ice bath, but takes a bit more mental strength to get into!!!

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